They will never be the same
by Aereal
Summary: A very short one-shot where a sassy Karigan exercises some girl power. The blokes may be daft sometimes but she is definitely not - and she decides to stand up for herself.


**This is a one-shot to show the fiery Karigan I love. It has to be set some months after BV, and for the purposes of this short story can we all assume that we have got rid of Estora? Please? I don't care how you do it… it just simplifies the story so much =) Go… girl power!**

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**They will never be the same**

Karigan walked into the Green Riders common room and fell into one of the comfortable armchairs near the fire. She gave a sigh of relief as she tugged off her dirty boots. Mara looked up from her book at the other side of the fire. "Good training session?" A soft smile played on Karigan's lips as she answered. "It was tough but… interesting." Her friend chuckled to herself as she imagined the source of Karigan's reverie; she had seen the chart showing the sparring rounds, and Karigan's partner today was a certain handsome monarch.

Mara watched in bemusement however, as Karigan's expression darkened into anger and finally frustration, and eventually set her book aside, forgotten. Karigan appeared to be thinking deeply, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. Finally she roused herself and stood stiffly, brushing down her sweaty clothes absent-mindedly. "Where are you going?" The terse response was "to tell him something I should have said long ago."

"But—" Mara could only watch in astonishment as the headstrong Rider strode out the door without even bothering to put her shoes on.

Karigan did not slow her steps until she reached the door to Zachary's study. A weapon outside the door stepped forward from the shadows and she recognised him. "Rory. I need to see the king." He struggled to hide his surprise as his eyes took in her informal attire and stockinged feet. "I'm sorry Karigan, but the king is in discussions with Weapons Master Drent, and cannot be disturbed."

Her eyes brightened. "Excellent. I can relay my message to both of them." She slipped past his solid form and through the heavy door, closing it behind her.

Inside the study, the King and Drent looked up in shock at this unannounced arrival, but before they could say anything Karigan advanced upon them and launched into her speech, taking advantage of her element of surprise.

"Gentlemen, I apologise for this, er, interruption. But I must speak to you."

Zachary looked frozen with confusion. She fixed the king with a determined glare and continued before he could recover.

"You treat me—both of you treat me like a mere girl. I have shown myself to be nearly an equal to trained swordmasters. I have survived the Blackveil expedition, and served as Westrion's avatar. I did not ask for these responsibilities, but I have made every effort to live up to all expectations and do my duty to the utmost degree.

"Sire, I am well aware of your personal feelings. Mine are—well, I am willing to discuss that another time, but that is not the issue right now. I will not have you looking at me like some piece of Sacor City meat-for-sale. Now that your mourning period is over, I will allow you to ask me to dinner. But please do not bring our personal affairs into the public arena. I am tired of your puppy dog looks."

Drent looked like he was about to give some kind of droll retort, and she rounded on him, looking even fiercer.

"As for you, Weapons Master, even if you have to have me trained in a dress, you know that I put every ounce of my being into my training. And yet you allow your brutish male students to humiliate me and attempt to degrade me. You will in future, I hope, restrain them and teach them that all pupils are equal. Perhaps then you will find more of the other talented female students joining the swordmasters arena."

Karigan bit her lip to keep from grinning ear-to-ear. Both of the men were speechless, their mouths now hanging open.

"Let's respect each other for our achievements, and our hard earned talents. Perhaps Sacoridia in general would benefit from more equality like this; the females of the species have a lot to offer if the men would just raise their brains from their nether-regions long enough to realize it. Good day to you, gentlemen."

And she walked out.

The king was working his jaw but appeared unable to make a sound. Finally Drent muttered softly, "do you think she is actually and literally a living reincarnation of the First Rider herself?" It took some minutes for Zachary to reply, but even then all he could say with a dazed expression was, "dinner it is then."


End file.
